TL;DR
- Crypto-gaming wagers could reach $1.3 trillion by 2035, up from $571 billion in 2026, according to Juniper Research, with wider crypto access driving growth.
- Banking exclusion and regulatory gaps are pushing users towards offshore platforms, particularly in emerging markets, creating opportunities for operators alongside future regulatory risks.
- Crypto-funded cards could widen telemedia’s paying audience, making digital assets easier to spend on gaming, streaming and subscriptions through familiar card payments and recurring billing.
New research from global tech strategists Juniper Research suggests that the total amount wagered on crypto-gaming platforms will increase from $571 billion in 2026 to $1.3 trillion in 2035; growing at a CAGR of 9.6% year-on-year.
The report identifies an increase in access to crypto as a key driving factor, particularly across emerging markets where gaps in traditional banking infrastructure and gambling regulation are pushing the underserved population toward crypto-native platforms.
Crypto rails act simultaneously as a payment rail for everyday transactions and a hedge against currency inflation. Both factors reinforce crypto adoption; widening the addressable market for crypto-gaming operators, and directly driving higher participation on crypto-gaming platforms, says Juniper.
| An extract from the new report, Crypto-gaming Market 2026-2035, is available as a free download |
Exclusion and regulatory gaps push users offshore
The report found that where card and banking rails exist in these markets, they frequently exclude users outright from fiat-based gambling. This exclusion is compounded by regulation. Many emerging markets either lack a formal gambling framework, or – where one exists – have one that is built around traditional, fiat-settled gaming without any consideration to cryptocurrency-based products. As a result, users are driven toward unregulated, offshore platforms instead.
Senior Research Analyst Jawad Jahan explains: “Crypto gaming growth in emerging markets is being driven largely by structural necessity. Where cards exclude fiat gambling and no domestic legal framework covers cryptocurrency, offshore crypto-first platforms become the next-best alternative. Operators that understand this dynamic are positioned to capture a user base that traditional payment and gambling infrastructure was never designed to serve, but this comes with future regulatory risks.”
Crypto traction in telemedia
The move towards crypto payments for gambling is part of the broader move towards using crypto across the telemedia and mobile entertainment space. As we saw back in April this year, the launch of the launch of the Lydian Card – built on Visa rails and powered by Rain – marks a significant step forward in making digital assets usable in everyday commerce.
The Lydian Card is, in many ways, a breakthrough moment for crypto in commerce. By allowing users to spend more than 300 digital assets anywhere Visa is accepted, it removes one of the biggest barriers that has held crypto back for years: usability. No more clunky conversions, limited merchant acceptance or confusing wallet flows. Crypto becomes just another funding source behind a familiar card interface.
For telemedia, this is a clear opportunity. A whole new cohort of users – many of them in regions with limited access to traditional banking – can now pay for services as easily as any cardholder. Markets across Latin America, Africa and parts of Southeast Asia, where crypto adoption has surged, suddenly become more accessible.
For content verticals such as gaming, streaming, adult content and digital subscriptions, this could translate into meaningful uplift in conversion and spend.
It also solves one of crypto’s long-standing weaknesses: recurring billing. Subscription models, the backbone of much of telemedia, have historically been difficult to execute with native crypto payments. By wrapping crypto inside a card, the Lydian model enables seamless renewals, upgrades and lifecycle management.
In short, crypto cards don’t just bring new users, they bring them in a format the industry already understands.
